Three little differences between Switzerland and the States

Since living in Zurich, I've been surprised by these three little differences between the States and Switzerland. 


Babies lie flat.
While pregnant, and nursing your newborn in the hospital, and visiting the pediatrician, something you're told again and again here is that "babies lie flat." Every pram or stroller is configured to be a lie-flat rolling bassinet for the first six months, and then it turns into a sitting stroller after that. It's something that is taken very seriously for the health of the baby's spine and the movement of their internal organs to their proper places after being curled up so long in the womb. It is a steadfast rule here and very important. Yet in the States, babies never lie flat! I saw baby after baby curled up in a car seat, or slumped into a stroller before they could sit while visiting home and I wonder why that is!?


Every child has rain gear.
Here's Coco in her massive rain gear. I bought it to last several years because it was expensive! Normally, I buy expensive items in the States and have my mom bring them to me when she visits. ;) But, after some looking, I realized rain gear for kids in the States is pretty uncommon. It was expensive there, too. That had me scratching my head. Plenty of Americans live in urban environments and need rain gear, surely. But it's just not a thing. You will not encounter a Swiss kid who doesn't have rain gear. They have at least two sets - one is kept at school or daycare and one is for at home. They go out everyday! I have to say, it's really nice having rain gear. When we arrive at a friend's house for lunch and strip it all off, Coco is warm and dry underneath. So where is the rain gear in America? Are people really in their cars that much?! 


Two duvets.
When we arrived at our first apartment in Adliswil (that our Swiss employer had set up for us), we chuckled at the two duvets on the bed. "Weird!" we said to ourselves with a little eye roll. Wrong. Having two duvets is the best thing ever. No more fighting over the covers. No more waking up freezing in the middle of the night while J is snug as a bug in a rug cocooned in our duvet. It's rad! I just need to find an attractive way to make the bed. And Coco is left out. For a while, I tried to cover her with mine, but now the Zizzz is the solution! We will never go back to one duvet. (And we ditched the ridiculously fussy top sheet long ago.) 

Did your baby lie flat? Does your child wear rain gear on a regular basis? Would you switch to two twin duvets in lieu of one big one? Tell me in the comments below. :) xo 

(Pretty photo of Zurich dusted in snow from here.)

Comments

  1. Haha! I love that you brought up the thing about two duvets. At first we were weird about it too, but then we realized how genius it was. I also had no idea that you couldn't buy top sheets in CH. I spent months looking for them until I finally talked to a friend about how they wash the duvet cover as we would wash a top sheet so there is no need for it, only the fitted sheet. Brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep! The only bummer is that it's such a pain to put duvet covers on... I've gotten way faster, though! ;)

      Delete
  2. I've been looking for the double duvet or two duvets / one bed for a very long time after discovering them in Basel, Switzerland. Where does one buy one in the U.S. or buy one online from another European country? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been looking for the double duvet or two duvets / one bed for a very long time after discovering them in Basel, Switzerland. Where does one buy one in the U.S. or buy one online from another European country? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there! So, we just use two twin duvets from IKEA and mostly IKEA duvet covers. The sets come with the duvet cover and one pillow case, which works for us! One problem is that the duvets and pillows in Europe are different sizes than those here in the US. AND...IKEA apparently has their own sizing structure beyond that. So, it's a little funky when mixing and matching, but still works, just not a PERFECT fit. Enjoy! The secret to a happy marriage is separate tubes of toothpaste, separate duvets and separate closets. ;) xx

      Delete

Post a Comment